Before the Jaguars game, Shanahan said the 49ers’ enthusiasm is at a “all-time high.”
Prior to starting the second half of the season, Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers had a much-needed respite following a difficult period in which they lost three straight games before their bye week.
In this week’s episode of “49ers Game Plan,” which airs on NBC Sports Bay Area, Shanahan told Greg Papa that the team’s morale is still high before their Week 10 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Shanahan said to Papa, “It was hard before we went on that bye week.” “We had won 15 straight games before losing three straight. It felt strange and different after we had lost three straight. It’s awful whenever I’ve been in a building that loses three straight. However, it was a distinct sensation given how prosperous we had been up until then. Although I knew we needed to take a break and get some rest, the nice thing was that I had no idea how the men would be feeling on Monday.
It was one of the [easiest] team meetings I’ve ever had, and I was prepared to go in and talk to them as a team. Based just on the atmosphere in the room, I got the impression that the guys were eager to get back to work on Monday despite being quite angry and dissatisfied with way things had turned out. We want to get to Sunday so we can play football outside because we had a wonderful practise to start the week and the energy has been at an all-time high.”
With a plus-99 point differential after five weeks, San Francisco dominated their opponents and jumped out to a 5-0 start in the 2023 NFL season.
Their offence was prolific, averaging 33.4 points per game and scoring more than 30 points in every game. During that same time period, the defence was equally excellent, allowing opponents to score just 13.6 points per game.
After Week 5, it appeared as though both sides of the ball were breaking at the same time. San Francisco’s explosive offence has only scored 17 points in the last three games, and their defence has been completely destroyed by opposing quarterback plays.
Running back Christian McCaffrey discussed the team’s sense of urgency ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jaguars after practise on Thursday.
In the 49ers locker room, McCaffrey told reporters, “You want to treat each week as one week at a time, but having a tough opponent on the road, every game is a statement game, this one for sure.” “We have to go out there and perform the best we can in order to win this one. Simply play the best football we can and do the best job we can on video.”
Week 11 of the 2021 NFL season was the last time the 49ers travelled to Jacksonville in dire need of a victory. San Francisco was 4-5 going into the game, and after dominating the Jaguars to the tune of a 30-10 final score, they exited with a.500 record.
